1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high performance semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly to embedded memory devices having first level bit lines connected along different layout directions. This invention is further related to circuit configurations and novel techniques for enabling multiple ports reading and writing operations for memory arrays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
DRAM is usually considered as a high density, low cost, but low performance memory device. DRAM""s of current art always have lower performance relative to other types of semiconductor memories such as static random access memory (SRAM). The density of DRAM has been improved rapidly; the extent of integration has been more than doubled for every generation. Such higher integration of DRAM has been realized mainly by super fine processing technique and improvements in memory cell structure. In the mean time, the improvement in DRAM performance is progressing at a much slower rate. This relatively slower improvement rate in performance generates a performance gap between logic devices and memory devices. Many new approaches have been proposed to reduce this performance gap. The synchronized DRAM (SDRAM), the extended data output (EDO) DRAM, the multiple bank DRAM (MDRAM), and the RAMBUS system approaches are the most well known methods to improve DRAM performance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,653 issued to Mashiko et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,993 issued to Takemae et al. disclosed DRAM having selectively activated subarrays in order to improve performance. Another approach to improve DRAM performance is to place an SRAM cache into DRAM (called xe2x80x9chybrid memoryxe2x80x9d). U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,000 issued to Fortino et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,147 issued to Fujishima et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,280 issued to Hayano et al. disclosed embodiments of hybrid memories. The major problem for above approaches is that they are paying very high price for performance improvement, while the resulting memory performance improvement is still not enough to fill the gap. Another problem is that all of those approaches require special system design that is not compatible with existing computer systems; it is therefore more difficult to use them in existing computer systems.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,268, Kuo et al. disclose a two-port six-transistor (6T) static random access memory (GRAM) cell structure with single-bit-line simultaneous read-write access capability using partially depleted silicon on insulator (SOI) CMOS dynamic threshold technique. In yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,689 Kuo et al. disclose a two-port six-transistor SRAM cell with single-bit-line simultaneous read-and-write access capability. The source terminal of an NMOS device in the SRAM cell is connected to the write word line. FIG. 1A is a diagram for showing a SRAM disclosed by Kuo et al. that provides two port simultaneous read-and-write accesses. Kuo""s structure is limited by access capability that one of bit-lines can be employed only for a read operation and another bitline only for a writing operation. In order to gain more flexibility to read and write from both ports, another set of bit-lines has to be added as that shown in FIG. 1B. A dual port structure as shown in FIG. 1B occupies larger areas and becomes more complex in structure and less desirable. Even for a most basic single-port read/write operation, two bit-lines and one wordline, as that shown in FIG. 1C is required. As the size of a memory array is increased, these additional bitline occupies large areas and becomes a major design constraint to more a effective area utilization.
Another disadvantage of DRAM is the need to refresh its memory. That is, the users need to read the content of memory cells and write the data back every now and then. The system support for DRAM is more complex than SRAM because of this memory refresh requirement. Memory refresh also represents a waste in power. U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,843 issued to Tillinghast et al. discloses a method to reduce the frequency of refresh cycles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,280 issued to Hayano et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,487 issued to Patel et al. disclosed DRAM""s with self-refresh capability. Those inventions partially reduce power consumption by refresh operations, but the magnitude of power saving is very far from what we can achieve by the present invention. The resource conflict problem between refresh and normal memory operations also remains unsolved by those patents.
Recently, Integrated Device Technology (IDT) announced that the company could make DRAM close to SRAM performance by cutting DRAM into small sub-arrays. The new device is not compatible with existing memory; it requires special system supports to handle conflicts between memory read operation and memories refresh operation. It requires 30% more area the DRAM, and its performance is still worse than SRAM of the same size.
Another important problem for DRAM design is the tight pitch layout problem of its peripheral circuits. In the course of the rapid improvement in reducing the size of memory cells, there has been no substantial improvement or change as to peripheral circuits. Peripheral circuits such as sense amplifiers, decoders, and precharge circuits are depend upon memory cell pitch. When the memory cells are smaller for every new generation of technology, it is more and more difficult to xe2x80x9csqueezexe2x80x9d peripheral circuits into small pitch of memory layout. This problem has been magnified when the memory array is cut into smaller sub-arrays to improve performance. Each subarray requires its own peripheral circuits; the area occupied by peripheral circuits increases significantly. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, there may occur a case wherein the extent of integration of DRAM is defined by peripheral circuits. U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,517 issued to Yamauchi et al. disclosed a method to double the layout pitch by placing sense amplifiers to both ends of the memory. This method requires additional sense amplifiers. Although the available layout pitch is wider than conventional DRAM, the layout pitch is still very small using Yamauchi""s approach.
All of the above inventions and developments provided partial solutions to memory design problems, but they also introduced new problems. It is therefore highly desirable to provide solutions that can improve memory performance without significant degradation in other properties such as area and user-friendly system support.
Another difficulty encountered by those of ordinary skill in the art is a limitation that Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) which is usually considered as a high density, low cost, and low performance memory device cannot be conveniently integrated as embedded memory. This is due to the fact that higher integration of DRAM has been realized mainly by super fine processing technique and improvements in memory cell structure. A typical DRAM manufacture technology of current art is the four layer poly silicon, double layer metal (4P2M) process. Such memory technology emphasizes on super-fine structure in manufacture memory cells; performance of it logic circuit is considered less important. A technology optimized to manufacture high speed logic products have completely different priority; it emphasizes on performance of transistors, and properties of multiple layer metals. An example of a typical logic technology of current art is the triple layer metal, single poly silicon (1P3M) technology.
An embedded memory, by definition, is a high density memory device placed on the same chip as high performance logic circuits. The major challenge to manufacture high density embedded memory is the difficulty in integrating two types of contradicting manufacture technologies together. An embedded technology of current art requires 4 layers of poly silicon and 3 layers of metal. There are more than 20 masking steps required for such technology. It is extremely difficult to have reasonable yield and reliability from such complex technology of current art. Further more, the current art embedded technology tend to have poor performance due to contradicting requirements between logic circuits and memory devices. None of current art embedded memory technology is proven successful. There is an urgent need in the Integrated Circuit (IC) industry to develop successful embedded memory devices.
The Applicant of this Patent Application has been successful in manufacturing embedded memory devices by novel approaches to change the architecture of IC memory so that the memory device no longer has conflicting properties with logic circuits. Examples of such architecture change have been disclosed in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 08/653,620. The previous application solved the tight pitch layout problems along the sense amplifier location, and it solves the self-refresh requirement by hiding refresh requirements. A pending continuation-in-part (CIP) Application further discloses solutions for remaining problems. A single-transistor decoder circuit solves the tight pitch layout problem along the decoder direction. Typical logic technology or small modifications of existing logic technology are applied to manufacture the memory cells. Using these novel inventions, high performance and high density embedded memory devices are ready to be manufactured.
As discussed above, conventional memory arrays are further limited by large areas occupied by bit lines and additional transistors when multiple ports are implemented for reading and writing data to the memory cells. As demonstrated in the prior Patents discussed above, the concerns of row contentions cannot be easily resolved without adding more bit lines and word lines. Flexibility of data access in reading data from and writing data to the memory arrays are therefore limited and further improvements of data access performance cannot be achieved due to these technical difficulties. The difficulties are further compounded by the conventional configuration where a requirement to activate all the memory cells along one wordline for a reading or writing operation. In addition to unnecessary wastes of energy, the power required to drive such operation often limits options that can be implemented for multiple-port reading and writing operations as will be particularly disclosed in this invention.
The primary objective of this invention is, therefore, to provide new circuit configuration and method to enable multiple port read and write operations to achieve area savings for manufacturing static RAM (SRAM) memory arrays. Another important objective is to make DRAM more user-friendly by making the performance improvement in parallel with simplification in system supports. Another primary objective is to provide an improved semiconductor memory device in which peripheral circuits can readily follow further higher integration of memory cells. Another objective is to reduce power consumption of high performance semiconductor memory.
Another important objective of this invention is to manufacture high-density memory device on the same chip with high performance logic devices without using complex manufacture technology. Another primary objective is to make embedded DRAM to have the same performance as high-speed logic circuits. Another primary objective is to improve yield and reliability of embedded memory products.
These and other objects are accomplished by a semiconductor memory device according to the invention. The memory device includes a novel architecture in connecting bit lines along multiple layout directions, a new design in decoder circuit, and a novel timing control that can finish a read cycle without waiting for completion of memory refresh.
According to the present invention as described herein, the following benefits, among others, are obtained.
(1) The multiple dimensional bit line structure dramatically reduces the parasitic loading of bit lines seen by sense amplifiers. Therefore, we can achieve significant performance improvement. Our results show that a memory of the present invention is faster than an SRAM of the same memory capacity.
(2) The multiple dimension bit line structure also allows us to use one sense amplifier to support many bit line pairs. Therefore, we no longer have tight pitch layout problem for sense amplifiers and other peripheral circuits. Removing tight pitch problem allows us to achieve performance improvement without paying high price in layout area.
(3) A novel decoder design reduces the size of memory decoder dramatically, that allow designers to divide the memory array into sub-arrays without paying high price in the area occupied by decoders.
(4) A novel input and output (IO) circuit design allows us to delay the memory refresh procedures until next memory operation. This approach allows us to xe2x80x9chidexe2x80x9d refresh cycles and memory update cycles in a normal memory operation. The resulting memory device is as friendly as existing SRAM device. In fact, a memory of this invention can be made fully compatible with existing SRAM device.
(5) All of the above improvements are achieved by using much lower power than the power used by prior art DRAM""s.
(6) The tight pitch layout problem along the decoder direction is solved. Therefore, we can divide a memory array into smaller blocks without sacrificing significant area. This architecture change allows us to use smaller storage capacitor for each DRAM memory cell, which simplifies manufacture procedure significantly.
(7) High density DRAM memory cells can be manufacture by adding simple processing steps to logic IC technology of current art. The resulting product supports high performance operation for both the memory devices and the logic circuits on the same chip.
(8) The simplification in manufacturing process results in significant improvements in product reliability and cost efficiency.
While the novel features of the invention are set forth with particularly in the appended claims, the invention, both as to organization and content, will be better understood and appreciated, along with other objects and features thereof, from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawing.